Esperance retain CAF Champions League after Wydad refuse to play

Soccer24 on 1 Jun, 2019

The Champions League final, second leg tie between Esperance of Tunisia and Morroco’s Wydad Casablanca was suspended for over an hour in the Stade Olympique de Rades before the match was awarded to the Tunisian side.

Esperance retained the title in a dramatic fashion after Wydad refused to return to the field in protest of VAR not being implemented on Walid El Karti’s 58th-minute equaliser that was ruled out.

Gambian referee Bakari Gassama chose not to use video assistance to review the goal, which led to the visitors walking off the pitch and refusing to return.

Following an hour stoppage, Gassama awarded the victory to the home team who were leading by 1-0 at the time the play was stopped, courtesy of Youcef Belaili’s first-half effort.

They won the tie 2-1 on aggregate after the first leg of the final ended 1-1.

According to BeIN Sport Gassama didn’t consult VAR because the system was not working due to “technical problems”.

Meanwhile, the first leg of the final played in Morroco was also riddled with controversy which resulted in referee Gehad Grisha being suspended for six months by CAF.